Farmer's Voice

Market overview

In a market currently led by
Phillip Morris International (PMI) through its iQOS device (with a
current production of Heet sticks ten times greater than that of
its main competitor, Japan Tobacco International) - and largely
marked by Japan's dominant position in this segment (96 % of sales
of heated tobacco are concentrated in this country) - according to
data provided by Euromonitor, there is a very significant overall
growth expectation for Heat-not-burn: in 2016 this
market accumulated global sales of 2 billion dollars and forecasts
from the same source point to a volume of 15.4 billion dollars in
2021.

Recalling the latter's role in
consumer conversion, it is worth mentioning the particular case of
PMI, which is recruiting Freelancers in the United Kingdom who are
tasked with promoting smokers to adopt the iQOS. This achievement
is worth £ 50 per new customer who purchases an iQOS device

There is no doubt that this market
notes a fast growth, but several prominent figures in the sector
point out the lack of accountability assumed by the academic
community with regard to the health-safety value of this type of
products. If, in theory, this way of consuming tobacco reduces the
risk to the health of smokers (and, to the limit, those around
them), institutions such as the World Health Organization or, in
particular in the U.S.A., the US Federal Drug Administration refuse
(for now) to favorably favor its use for conventional cigarette
substitution. Consequently this market segment will have a slower
progress than its potential.

However, the literature has not yet
found a sufficient time frame to ensure the benefits of this new
category. At the same time, there are some recent academic articles
that call into question the "innocuousness" of these products.
Nevertheless, the major players in the sector continue to invest in
modernizing and training their factories to supply them with new
production lines for this segment (as it is the case of PMI in
Italy, Germany or more recently in Romania).